Hey guys, got my upgrade coming soon, and am looking for a budget smartphone, I have been considering the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 up to this point, just wondering whether any of you guys have any experience with them?

There are post google purchase phones, but those phones were in the pipeline pregoogle purchase. Which explains why they went with LG for the Nexus 4. I don't want a google nexus phone though (which is basically a everyman cheap quality phone) I want google to make a flashier higher end phone. I read an article, don't remember if it was here, that Samsung's cornering of the Android market could hurt google if Sammy tries to release their own version of it like Amazon did with their kindle line.

At the official Galaxy S4 announcement in New York on Thursday, Samsung Mobile chief JK Shin mentioned the phone will hit store shelves at the end of April, but didn't say anything about the pricing.

Well, the beans have been sort of unintentionally spilled by the company’s website in the terms and conditions of an ongoing giveaway. There, each of the 48 Galaxy S4 phones that are up for grabs has been listed with an “approximate retail value” of $579.

However, the price is most probably before taxes, which are added at the point of sale. Still, the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S4 would be cheaper than the Apple iPhone 5, which currently retails for $649 SIM-free.

they've improved quite a bit; i think the tl is getting jelly bean now. also, even though the xperia z was shipped with 4.1 jb, an update is already going to come out by the end of the month apparently.

i think sony's UI is the cleanest, by far of the oem's, and in many senses, the little additions to stock are an improvement. samsung has a ton of features but at least half of them are pretty useless, and touchwiz is pretty hideous. the new sense 5 isn't as ugly, but the blinkfeed is just useless and their button layout is ridiculous. if i get the z, i doubt i'll have to do much besides swapping out the icons; with touchwiz or sense 5, i'll have to do quite a bit with nova launcher.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt

Ok children, I got a question for you.
If Kmack > the rest of you.
And Riddler > Kmack
Does that mean Riddler = God?

There are post google purchase phones, but those phones were in the pipeline pregoogle purchase. Which explains why they went with LG for the Nexus 4. I don't want a google nexus phone though (which is basically a everyman cheap quality phone) I want google to make a flashier higher end phone. I read an article, don't remember if it was here, that Samsung's cornering of the Android market could hurt google if Sammy tries to release their own version of it like Amazon did with their kindle line.

I read that on PhoneArena. I also read a similar article about the possibility of Samsung abandoning Android for Tizen and how that could do damage as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Riddler

if all are available on at&t...

i'd go:
1. xperia z
2. samsung gs4
3. htc one

the moto x phone is probably not coming out for a long while.

Read an article hinting the Moto X would most likely be heading out this summer probably September.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Riddler

i think that used to be the case.

they've improved quite a bit; i think the tl is getting jelly bean now. also, even though the xperia z was shipped with 4.1 jb, an update is already going to come out by the end of the month apparently.

i think sony's UI is the cleanest, by far of the oem's, and in many senses, the little additions to stock are an improvement. samsung has a ton of features but at least half of them are pretty useless, and touchwiz is pretty hideous. the new sense 5 isn't as ugly, but the blinkfeed is just useless and their button layout is ridiculous. if i get the z, i doubt i'll have to do much besides swapping out the icons; with touchwiz or sense 5, i'll have to do quite a bit with nova launcher.

The only problem I have with the Z is the display and call quality. These two are major importances in a touchscreen-based smartPHONE.

Since Thursday, when Samsung introduced its latest flagship Android smartphone, 99.99% of the buzz has about the Samsung Galaxy S4, freezing out the Apple iPhone 5. If there is one thing that Apple hates, it is being frozen out of the news cycle by its rival. It just isn't good for sales of the Apple iPhone and Apple iPad if everyone is sitting glassy-eyed, panting and drooling over pictures and descriptions of the Samsung Galaxy S 4.

So Apple retaliated by putting up a page on its website that is titled "There's iPhone and then there's everything else". You might have heard Apple iPhone fans say that they like the device because "it just works". Apple alludes to this by saying that people love the iPhone because it lets them do so many things so easily. Apple then brags about the eight straight JD Power and Associates awards it has won for customer satisfaction. That means the Apple iPhone has won every year since its first launch in 2007.

Apple then compares the craftsmanship of the Apple iPhone to a finely crafted watch and goes through some of the features of the device including its battery life, and the Retina display. Yes, while Apple says that you can't find a Retina display anywhere but on an Apple device, that is not because of the screen itself. You see, Apple coined the term. The 326ppi pixel density on the Apple iPhone 5 is surpassed by many Android models including the industry leading pixel density of 468ppi on the HTC One.

Apple be hatin'. Even WP and BB devices surpass that damn 'Retina Display'.

Read an article hinting the Moto X would most likely be heading out this summer probably September.

The only problem I have with the Z is the display and call quality. These two are major importances in a touchscreen-based smartPHONE.

apparently the x phone won't be as ground breaking as rumors were suggesting. also, i doubt it comes out in the summer; far too soon from what google has been saying, but we'll see.

also, the xperia z's screen is great except for viewing angles. viewing angles is a non-issue to me since i look at my phone straight on (as i assume almost everyone does). also, i haven't heard that the call quality was an issue at all. in fact, reviews have suggested it's pretty strong in that area. i'd assume any variation may be based on signal strength rather than the phone.

also, i'd probably get either the z or the zl. the zl is actually a better phone overall (dedicated camera button, much shorter, sweet notification light, slightly larger battery, screen calibration, more comfortable in hand) but the z is sexier and waterproof. either way, if at&t picks one of them up, i'll probably lean towards choosing it though i would like to test out the s4 before i make a final decision.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt

Ok children, I got a question for you.
If Kmack > the rest of you.
And Riddler > Kmack
Does that mean Riddler = God?

apparently the x phone won't be as ground breaking as rumors were suggesting. also, i doubt it comes out in the summer; far too soon from what google has been saying, but we'll see.

It probably won't be groundbreaking. I predict Holiday season, but I've heard a rumor saying around summer. But like you said who knows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Riddler

also, the xperia z's screen is great except for viewing angles. viewing angles is a non-issue to me since i look at my phone straight on (as i assume almost everyone does). also, i haven't heard that the call quality was an issue at all. in fact, reviews have suggested it's pretty strong in that area. i'd assume any variation may be based on signal strength rather than the phone.

I've read about three reviews for the phone, so I'm no expert on it. The viewing angles are not bothersome as I don't care aswell, but the blacks look a light shade of grey and the colors don't seem to pop to me. As for call quality, sure it does depend on signal strength, I read a review saying the quailty was not that great compared to other flagships, albiet this was before SGS4 and HTC1 were released.

It probably won't be groundbreaking. I predict Holiday season, but I've heard a rumor saying around summer. But like you said who knows.

I've read about three reviews for the phone, so I'm no expert on it. The viewing angles are not bothersome as I don't care aswell, but the blacks look a light shade of grey and the colors don't seem to pop to me. As for call quality, sure it does depend on signal strength, I read a review saying the quailty was not that great compared to other flagships, albiet this was before SGS4 and HTC1 were released.

the blacks are definitely not as dark as an amoled screen, but i think a lot of people saying that are looking at the area around the capacitive buttons, which sony has made a dark gray, not black. i think the problem with the screen, for me, is the reflective cover they put on top of their glass that makes is difficult to see in sunlight.

as for the call quality, i've read a ton of reviews and that hasn't been a problem, but i wouldn't be surprised to see some reviewers say so based on their experience.

the one's screen is probably going to be the best, though, similar to how the one x was the best last generation.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt

Ok children, I got a question for you.
If Kmack > the rest of you.
And Riddler > Kmack
Does that mean Riddler = God?

Hey Rid, if the Z doesn't come to AT&T how about settling for an unlocked Xperia SP?

i only go for high end flagships.

haha, in all seriousness, it looks really nice, but i'd far prefer the z/zl to it. also, the more i look into the s4, the more i like it. i know a lot of people were hoping for a more drastic redesign (me included), but the more i look at it, the more i enjoy its design. it certainly looks like a classed up s3 and the new sides and slightly squarer corners look great. not sure if i would get the white or black s4 though...what do you guys think?

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt

Ok children, I got a question for you.
If Kmack > the rest of you.
And Riddler > Kmack
Does that mean Riddler = God?

I was hoping that the SIV looking similar to the SII was true because I like a square and sharper corners over rounder corners. Oh, and it's still glossy plastic. Bleh.

Some of the smart functions are nice, but pretty much almost everything we already knew. Either way, the phone looks to be as great as the SIII.

It's still disappointing that it's only quad-core in the US. Shafted by Samsung again. Quad-core has been used since last fall, and I'm surprised that Samsung couldn't get it working with LTE (the problem they had last time with the SIII, which is why it's dual-core in the US). It would have put them way above the competition.

Looks like we won't see the dual quad-cores until the Note III over here.

I was hoping that the SIV looking similar to the SII was true because I like a square and sharper corners over rounder corners. Oh, and it's still glossy plastic. Bleh.

Some of the smart functions are nice, but pretty much almost everything we already knew. Either way, the phone looks to be as great as the SIII.

It's still disappointing that it's only quad-core in the US. Shafted by Samsung again. Quad-core has been used since last fall, and I'm surprised that Samsung couldn't get it working with LTE (the problem they had last time with the SIII, which is why it's dual-core in the US). It would have put them way above the competition.

Looks like we won't see the dual quad-cores until the Note III over here.

Samsung hates America. It's so simple.

Apparently according to CyanogenMod, due to there being two different versions with two different processors and the Exynos processor sources used by them, it may be a hard for hacking and modding the S4.

Also Google is taking out ad-blocking apps from the Play Store. Luckily, AdBlocker Plus is offering it directly to the users. Thank you side-loading apps.